Lost In Camelot
by ElizaJay
Summary: Kay is a 17 year old girl, your average tom boy, and very bored with everyday life. But when she makes a wish her whole life is turned upside down as Kay is forced to become a servant in Camelot and earn her keep by doing what every modern day teenager hates the most; chores. Kay does everything she can think of to get back to her old life, but can she do enough?
1. Chapter 1

**The 1****st**** Chapter**

In a small English town, a girl known as Kay stood before the wall mirror in her bedroom, inspecting her appearance. Her light brown hair had recently been styled into a defiant pixie cut, despite the advice of almost all her friends, and her hazelnut eyes reflected the sunlight revealing a secret spectrum of colour. Her small stature was swamped by baggy red trousers crafted by a soft fabric and consequently riddled with small holes, and a shirt two sizes too big with the sleeves cut short and the colour of mustard seed.

Her mother's voice reverberated through the house pulling Kay out of her reverie like a splash of cold water, "Kayla Mary Joan! I won't tell you again, take the recycling outside now!"

Kay winced at the effect her mother's vocal chords had on her, like nails on a chalkboard, and loped down the stairs, "I'm comin', I'm comin'."

She grabbed the small green bin from its place atop the counter and almost threw herself at the front door, pulling on her trainers as she went.

Out in the front garden, once her recycling task had been dealt with, Kay's thoughts wandered onto other things as they so often did. And soon enough her gaze was riveted to a beautiful sunset; the sky quickly filling up with pinks and yellows like ink on parchment.

Kay thought of the week old, home-made card at the top of the recycling heap with the words '17 Today!' printed in bold lettering as if it were the best thing in the world. But on the contrary, all Kay felt was the disappointment of another dull and almost meaningless year, come and gone like dust on the wind.

As these dismal thoughts ran through her head, Kay just about made out a distant star, the first of the evening, and on an impulse made a wish under her breath, "Give me an adventure; like the ones I used to read about."

Immediately Kay's mind ran back to one of her oldest books, that of Prince Arthur, his knights, and the round table. And of course her favourite character of them all, Merlin; Arthur's manservant and secret warlock.

As Kay reminisced about her favourite childhood story, and how more exciting her life would be in Merlin's time, she failed to notice the star in the sky shining abnormally bright. Only when the whole street seemed to be aglow with it did she pay it any attention, forced to cover her eyes with her hand she whispered to herself, "What the hell is it doing?"

Kay watched as slowly, the star transformed into a white globe of light which filled her vision. She fell to her knees, blinded, and called out in panic. But at that moment her ears were plagued by a piercing ringing which drowned out any other sound, including her own voice.

And then, almost as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

The white light subsided into orange eyelids, as she had unwittingly closed her eyes, and the ringing had melted away to be replaced by the chirps of birds.

Kay cautiously opened one eye, and then the other, only to find herself kneeling in lush green grass covered in a blanket of morning dew.

"Oh…my…gosh!" Kay looked up and found herself surrounded by trees that towered above her, "There's no way in hell Mum's going to believe this."

Kay turned her head at the sound of hoofs on dirt and was stunned by the sight that greeted her; two men riding on steeds entered the clearing. One had a head of blonde hair and was wearing mainly chain mail, the other had dark hair and wore a simple brown jacket and blue shirt. Both, she noted, were stunningly handsome as they were brought to a halt in front of her.

Arthur pulled at the reigns and motioned for Merlin to do the same. A small urchin appeared to be blocking their pathway, and it seemed that the boy (for with her short hair and strange attire Kay did look like a boy to the passers-by) was in no hurry to move to the side.

"Are you alright child?" Arthur queried.

Kay blinked slowly, "No, I'm not. I'm definitely not alright."

The two men looked at each other, Arthur tilted his head at her to signal that Merlin should try, as if to say that he would have a better shot at connecting with the poor and bewildered.

Merlin cleared his throat, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

A battle cry rang out as a gang of men fell from the branches of the trees, Arthur drew his sword, "It's a trap!" He leapt off his horse and commenced fighting off the ambush.

Merlin saw out of the corner of his eye the glint of a sword heading straight towards the wide-eyed child, "Look out!"

Kay awoke from her stupor and twisted on the ground to find a swordsman aiming for her neck. Instinctively she lay flat on the ground, as if she were playing a game of very dangerous limbo, and narrowly missed losing her head. The sword was raised for another strike, Kay rolled out of the way and onto her feet into a crouched position just as heavy metal met soft grass with a dull thud.

Whilst the thug recovered Kay heard words of an almost chilling language that sent cold fingers of dread down her spine. She glanced over just in time to see the iris' of her saviour's eyes turn momentarily golden, and then her attacker was thrown across the clearing by an invisible force.

Kay gasped as realisation dawned on her that her wish had come true, Merlin had just saved her life using _magic_ and Arthur had just finished knocking out the last of the thugs using the butt of his sword. He turned, panting heavily, and pointed at her, "Hey you! Come here!"

Kay did the only thing she could think of; she spun on her heel and ran in the opposite direction.

Heart pounding, lungs burning, Kay dodged the trees with adrenaline fuelled speed. When she tripped on a protruding root, forcing her face first onto the ground, she picked herself up and ducked behind a nearby trunk.

Kay held her breath as she listened out for the two impossible people. Sure enough the sound of heavy footfalls could be heard just a few metres away.

Kay accidently nudged some heavy object with the heel of her shoe and glanced down at a bluntly edged stone. Biting her tongue in concentration, she shimmied down to silently grasp her new weapon and clench it in her fist. By the time she had returned to her full height, slow and cautious footsteps were making their way towards her hiding place from both sides.

Kay narrowed her eyes, took a moment to centre herself, and acted on impulse. Pulling back from the tree, she raised her hand which brandished the stone like a sword, and aimed for whatever moved. But her wrist was caught mid-strike by a large hand, for a long moment Kay was lost in Arthur's staggeringly deep blue eyes, and then her arm was twisted round and pulled up against her back, forcing her to face the other way.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow!_ That _hurts!_" Kay tried to pull away but was rewarded with a sharp pain in her shoulder.

Arthur pulled the stone from her hand, "I'll have that," As soon as he let go of her arm she flew forward but was blocked by Merlin who raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"Hold on there."

Kay spun around, trapped, "I didn't do anything." She spoke quickly.

Arthur took a step towards her, "What's your name boy?"

Kay frowned but decided, for the time being, not to correct him, "Uh…Kay."

"Kay," He took another step, "Do you realise that treason is punishable by death?"

Kay's eyes widened, "Treason? You don't…you can't possibly think that _I _was a part of that?"

Merlin spoke up in Kay's defence, "One of the bandits _did _try to kill him," Arthur shot him a patronizing glare, Merlin shrugged, "Just saying, why hurt one of your own?"

Arthur studied Kay for a moment or two sending nervous shivers down her spine, "We'll take him back to Camelot with us where he can be dealt with appropriately." The prince grasped Kay's arm firmly, but not unkindly, and pulled her with him back to the horses, "Merlin grab the rope will you? Make yourself useful at least once today."

Merlin hurried ahead of them, muttering under his breath, something against Arthur's lack of manners no doubt. Arthur let it slide…for now.

Kay let herself be pulled along, she had decided that since Merlin had magic and Arthur was just a couple of weight classes out of her league, she'd keep her knowledge about this world under her hat and run along with this crazy pantomime which she had somehow stumbled into. It also was probably not such a bad idea to let people continue to think of her as the opposite gender since in this world it was the boys that got all the fun anyway.

When Kay came to from her reverie, her hands were trussed up and connected by the rope to the back of the prince's saddle. Both men mounted their steeds, and as Kay was led by Arthur through the thick greenery of the forest, Merlin took up the rear, lost in thought.

Although Arthur felt they had caught themselves an annoyance and possible traitor to the crown, to Merlin, Kay was an intriguing mystery. He was sure that the boy had seen him use magic, and yet he hadn't mentioned it, not even to save his own skin. This made no sense and sent Merlin's suspicions to the forefront of his mind.

As the three of them reached the castle, they slowly became surrounded by people, and with people came wide-eyed stares and hushed voices. Kay endured the degrading treatment easily, her mind was elsewhere as she took in the splendid scenes of her childhood fairy-tale with an almost childlike quality. Scenes that she had only imagined before.

But as they manoeuvred their way around the gallows, Kay found herself gulping involuntarily, and hoping that her day shouldn't end so drastically.

Arthur pulled the reins on his horse and hopped down to disconnect his prisoner from the saddle, however, he kept hold of the rope as a new servant arrived to take the prince's 'vehicles' away.

Kay tried to force the rope apart but it held firm, "You don't need to keep me tied up, I have rights you know."

Arthur tugged the rope towards him making her stumble forward, "Traitors of the crown don't have any rights."

Kay looked him in the eye, "Innocent till proven guilty my friend." He raised an eye brow at her as if daring her to speak out of turn just one more time before turning away. As he did so, Kay impulsively stuck her tongue out at his back, causing Merlin to stifle a chuckle.

Arthur turned around, "What on Earth are you laughing at Merlin?"

"Sorry, dry throat." Merlin coughed into his fist for emphasis which made Kay smile.

Arthur shot a suspicious look before leading the way through the castle corridors to the great hall where King Uther sat on a pristine throne.

"Arthur! You've returned, but why have you brought back this urchin with you?"

"Father, let me explain. We found the boy blocking our pathway just before we were attacked by bandits."

Uther sat a little straighter, "Attacked?" His heavy gaze rested on Kay who rubbed her sweaty palms on the backs of her trousers, the image of the gallows popped into her head and she resisted the urge to gulp, "Well then, I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

Before anyone could speak on her behalf, as was the proper way of procedure, Kay had already called out in desperation, "I didn't _do _anything!"

A deathly silence fell over the room, and for a moment Kay thought that she would be sent to her punishment anyway, but to everybody's astonishment Uther leaned forward in his chair, "Alright then, explain yourself."

Taken aback, Kay hesitated, but was pushed forward by Arthur reminding her that she needed to come up with an answer, "Well, uh…you see, I was taking a morning stroll when…" Kay remembered how she'd been blinded by the star and had just appeared in the woods,"…when…I…was…hit on the head from behind. Yeah, and then I woke up and that was when _those_ two found me 'blocking their path'."

Uther appraised her, "So you're saying that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"That's about the gist of it."

"Hmm," Uther seemed to consider her answer, "Which village do you come from?"

"Uh…the village of Surrey?"

"I've never heard of that one."

"It's a very small group of families, not really even a village at all." Kay had to bite her tongue to stop her from blabbering on whilst Uther made a decision about what to do with her.

"And what is your name boy?"

"Kay, your Majesty."

"An odd name, you certainly are a long way from home."

A few moments of silence were broken by Arthur, "What should we do with him Father?"

"We'll keep him here, but he must earn his keep by working as a royal servant, Can you do that boy?"

Kay quickly thought up an excuse, "I've never really been very good with chores."

"Then you'll apprentice with Merlin."

Merlin suddenly went bug-eyed, as Arthur asked, "Are you sure that's wise?"

Uther hardly looked at him, "It's decided."


	2. Chapter 2

**The 2****nd**** Chapter**

After the trial, Kay was led by guard through a labyrinth of stone passage-ways and a never-ending stair case that spiralled so much it left Kay feeling nauseous. Merlin and an old man called Gaius were a few feet ahead discussing the consequences of their new guest. Arthur had stayed behind, no doubt sorting out some kingly business, so Kay was left to fend for herself.

Merlin whispered so as not to alert the guards, "I'm telling you, one of the bandits attacked that boy as well as us, he can't have been part of the trap."

Gaius looked thoughtful, "I agree it is strange but why else would he be in that clearing?"

"I'm not sure but I don't feel that he's a threat."

"Just be careful Merlin."

Five minutes later Kay was sipping at a bowl of watery soup under the reproachful gaze of Gaius, Merlin was also at the table facing opposite Kay with his own meal, Kay was concentrating on her next mouthful when she spoke out, "Stop it."

Merlin looked up, spoon poised, "What?"

Kay fixed her gaze onto Gaius, "He keeps staring at me and I want him to stop it."

Merlin's attention shifted to Gaius who didn't even bat an eyelid at Kay's exclamation, "You're very feminine for a boy aren't you?"

Kay jolted, almost choking on her mouthful of soup, "I don't know what you mean." Her tone was injected with just the right amount of nonchalance, but it took all her will power not to wipe her brow which had begun to subtly sweat.

"What I mean is that you have very feminine features for a boy, you have large eyes, a delicate nose and you sit with your ankles crossed." Kay uncrossed her ankles self-consciously, but his face said that he wasn't fooled.

Merlin's eyes flicked between the two of them, "What are you talking about? Kay is a boy's name and he's wearing boy's clothes."

At Gaius' penetrating look, Kay sighed and put down her spoon, "It's short for Kayla," at Merlin's incredulous look she continued, "I didn't mean to lie, though if you think about it, it was you and Arthur who made the assumption. And after I saw the way you two handled yourselves in that fight, well can you blame me for keeping my mouth shut?"

Gaius moved around the table towards Kay who scooted down the bench, keeping a wary eye on the old man, her brows drew together in curiosity, "What I'd like to know is how you were able to pick up on all that stuff when nobody else even had a clue?"

Gaius simply picked up her empty bowl before answering, "I'm the King's advisor, I need to be able to judge others on appearance. Your eyes in particular gave you away; they're too wide and studious."

Kay frowned at Gaius' turned back, but as soon as she noticed Merlin watching her, she arched an eyebrow which had him looking away.

"Of course," both Merlin and Kay's attention was drawn over to Gaius, "If you want to continue masquerading as the opposite gender, which I assume you do, then you will have to be treated as such. Therefore you can sleep on Merlin's floor."

Both Merlin and Kay answered instantaneously, "What?!"

Merlin stood up indignantly, "You can't be serious Gaius, he, she, whatever it is can't just sleep on the floor, not permanently, and certainly not in my room." And although he hadn't mentioned it, ever since Kay had turned up he'd gotten an uncomfortable vibe from her, as if her very presence was tipping the world on its axis.

Kay also got to her feet, "As offended as I am, he has a point, I do not intend on sleeping on his floor. There must be some alternative."

Gaius brushed off their complaints with ease, "I'm afraid not, it's either the floor or the rafters, your choice."

Kay glanced up at the rafters assessing their stability, they looked pretty thin from her vantage point, "Fine. I guess I can survive one night. But mark my words; I am getting out of here tomorrow!"

**~ L . I . C ~**

The sheets were thin and coarse, the floor ice cold and rock hard, and unsurprisingly Kay could not get comfortable.

Every three minutes she would groan and shift into a new position, ultimately keeping her unfortunate room-mate from getting any sleep either. Kay was just testing out the on-the-back-diagonal approach when Merlin's deep, irritated voice sounded from above, "Would you just go to sleep?"

"Easy for you to say Mr Look-at-me-I-have-a-real-bed." Kay growled into the darkness.

Merlin suddenly asked a question that Kay was in no way prepared for, "When Arthur caught you why didn't you mention what you saw in the forest?"

Kay's body went rigid as she fought to control her growing sense of panic, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Merlin popped his head over the side of the bed, using his elbow for support, "I know that you saw me use magic, you looked like you were in shock just before you ran away, so don't pretend you didn't. But why didn't you tell anyone?"

Kay narrowed her eyes at him, "Would you prefer that I had? Would that make it easier for you to hate me? Because I refuse to do that, I don't need enemies."

Merlin was taken aback by Kay's icy tone. Unable to think of anything else, he replied, "I don't hate you Kay."

Kay already knew this but she couldn't think of a way to answer his question that wouldn't give everything away, and she couldn't explain everything that had happened without sounding completely crazy. So instead she gave a brisk nod, "Good. Now I'm going to try to get some sleep."

Merlin hesitated a moment before rolling back into bed and closing his eyes. But it wasn't until he had almost been completely swallowed by the fuzzy cloud of dreamland that he realised that Kay had avoided his question.

**~ L . I . C ~**

When Merlin woke to the first rays of sunlight, his overriding thought was that he wasn't alone, and then he remembered.

He sat up in bed, and sure enough the girl masquerading as a boy was snoring softly, fast asleep with the sheets tangled and pulled halfway down her torso. Merlin chanted under his breath whilst looking at the blanket with golden eyes, in no time at all it straightened itself out and levitated above Kay's slumbering form as if it had taken on a life of its own.

Kay stirred, rubbing the sand out of her eyes with the back of her hand, "What the?" Without a sound Merlin dropped the blanket making her sit up with the sheet still covering her face, "Hey!" She viciously tugged at the cloth to find Merlin grinning from ear to ear,

"Rise and shine."

Kay glared at him, "That was not funny. And how do you expect to keep your 'skills'," Kay made air quotations around the word, "on the down-low when you're pulling stunts like that?"

Merlin scratched his head, confused at Kay's foreign words, "Down-low?"

"Kay is right Merlin." Both of them jumped at the unexpected interruption and turned to the sound of Gaius' disapproving tone in the door way, "You should be more careful where magic is concerned."

Merlin was suddenly all serious, "Yes Gaius."

Gaius nodded, satisfied, "Alright, well as soon as you've had breakfast you can take Kay down to Arthur's chambers, you have a long day ahead of you."

Kay frowned, "You sound like you're going somewhere."

"I'm afraid the Lady Morgana has run out of sleeping draft, so I shall be collecting herbs for most of the morning. Remember, you answer to Merlin, I'll see you both later."

A loaf of bread and a slice of meat later Merlin and his 'apprentice' were half-way to the prince's quarters.

Kay still wasn't completely convinced that she wasn't lying unconscious somewhere in a life threatening coma, since she'd been racking her brains all night and the only alternative was time travel (which was highly unlikely) meaning that a coma was the only logical explanation.

She was just scrutinising Merlin a couple of steps behind, thinking how realistic he was for a figment of her subconscious, when he stopped mid-stride. Kay ploughed into his back, looked up, and saw a bemused and more than slightly irritated face, she spoke huffily, "What have you stopped for?"

"I am trying to talk to you and you've just been ignoring me." He had turned so that he was now facing her fully, knocking her head with his knuckle for emphasis.

Kay swiped at him, "_Sorry_, what were you trying to tell me then?"

Merlin cocked his head to the side as if studying her, "I've been thinking about what you said last night, that you didn't need enemies? I've had this uncomfortable feeling around you, like something wasn't quite right."

Kay gulped, he may have felt 'uncomfortable' around her, but surely he hadn't guessed that she didn't belong in this world? "Really?"

Merlin eyed her, "Yes, though you don't act like someone with an agenda. If you planned to get into the castle all along then you have a funny way of going about it." Kay chuckled nervously, but he continued, "So I'll trust you for now." Kay flinched as he grasped the front of her shirt and brought her to her toes, her face level with his, "But if I find anything that suggests you are planning against Arthur, then I will stop you."

With that he let her go, turned on his heel, and continued down the corridor as if nothing had happened. Kay repressed a shudder before following in his wake.

The two of them soon came to an abrupt halt at a pair of large and intimidating doors. Merlin knocked twice and then stepped through a smaller door which opened out of it, leaving Kay to stare in awe at the entrance to the prince's bedroom. She managed to stay that way for about five seconds before Merlin's hand reached back through the open door and dragged her inside.

Kay stumbled in, tripping over her own feet, all the while managing to shoot black looks at Merlin. Suddenly a warm hand fell on Kay's shoulder, "Don't think that your status as apprentice will let you off easy on the chores. I have tons of polishing for you to do, and the laundry isn't going to clean itself."

Kay craned her neck upwards but soon wished she hadn't; Arthur, the prince of Camelot, was stood not two inches away in nothing but a low-riding sheet that somehow managed to keep secure above his hips. Kay felt the blood rush to her face and quickly turned away, Merlin was only just able to keep a straight face while Kay struggled for a reply, "Uh…right. Yes your majesty."

Arthur chuckled low in his throat, "What's the matter, you're acting as if you've seen something you shouldn't." Arthur crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Kay looked to the ceiling for help, "Something like that," She spoke under her breath.

To Kay's utter relief, Merlin took over the situation, and as soon as he had Arthur appropriately dressed, Kay let out a breath she hadn't been conscious of holding.

As Merlin was tying the prince's belt, Arthur was contemplating something that had been niggling away at him since yesterday. There was something off about Kay that he couldn't quite put his finger on, even looking at him now, the boy was obviously uncomfortable. And could it have been his imagination, or had he seen the boy…blush? He'd have to keep an eye on him that was for sure.

"Kay," The boy looked up with a guarded expression on his face, "I'm going out on an errand today so I'll need my horse saddled before I go." When Kay just looked at him, dumb-founded, Arthur used a firmer tone, "Well, don't just stand there, get to it."

Kay threw panicked eyes at Merlin which Arthur immediately picked up on, "What's the matter? It's just the same as saddling any other horse."

Merlin could see the cogs turning in Kay's mind as she sifted through 101 reasons as to why she had never saddled a horse in her life, but none seemed even remotely plausible, "I'm afraid I'm slightly out of practice…" at Arthur's undisguised look of doubt a moment of inspiration hit her, "And I don't know where the stables are!" Kay exclaimed a little too loudly.

Merlin quickly salvaged the situation, "Just let me finish here and I'll make sure he gets it done."


	3. Chapter 3

**The 3****rd**** Chapter**

"No. Uh-uh. No way ho-zay. I am not doing it and that's final!" Kay stood with her back to the stable wall, her arms out, hands splayed in a 'stay-back' gesture.

Merlin held a pair of leather reins in his hands, "Come on Kay, you're going to have to learn to saddle a horse sooner or later. Don't be such a baby."

Kay fisted a hand to each of her hips, "I'll have you know that being _overly cautious _is what's going to keep me alive, I mean have you _seen_ the teeth on that so-called horse? Look at him, he could have me for dinner!"

Merlin glanced behind him at the chestnut stallion whose ear twitched as if noticing he were part of the conversation, chewing hay languidly. Merlin then turned back to Kay , his tone dripping with sarcasm, "Yeah, he looks really scary, even a little hungry…"

"Shut up!"

Merlin was laughing as he worked the bit into the horse's mouth, "Imagine being afraid of you eh?"

Kay gagged uncontrollably just as a familiar voice sounded from outside, "Where the hell is my horse? Merlin! Kay!"

Kay gulped dramatically, "Uh oh."

Arthur marched into the stable, "Merlin! How long does it take to get my horse ready?"

"It's all done." Merlin led the horse out of its box forcing Kay to edge her way down the stable wall. Arthur pointed at Kay in an irritated fashion,

"What's the matter with him?"

Merlin answered without missing a beat, "As it turns out, Kay's afraid of horses."

Kay shot a look of utter betrayal at him with blazing brown eyes, "I am _not _afraid of horses!"

Arthur took the reins from Merlin, an idea forming in his mind, "So when I asked you to saddle the horses, and you said you were out of practice, what you really meant was that you didn't like horses?" Kay stuttered, trying to come up with an explanation, but she was cut off, "Follow me." Arthur crooked his finger and left the stables.

Distrustful of Arthur's sudden change in mood, Kay looked to Merlin for advice or at the very least some sort of warning, but the best he could offer was a simple shrug of the shoulders. Eyes narrowed, Kay made sure to punch him in the arm on her way out, leaving him to look at her with disdain as he rubbed his new sore spot.

As soon as Kay stepped out into the harsh sunlight with Merlin close behind her, she spotted Arthur speaking to another servant, and not a moment later that same servant came jogging past them and back into the stables. Once within earshot Arthur called over to them, "You're about to get over your fear of horses!"

Kay gritted her teeth as they neared, feeling that at this rate she would manage to grind them down to the quick, "For the last time, I'm not _afraid _of horses."

Arthur grinned, "Good; because you're going to ride one."

Kay's eyes bugged out of her head, her breathing shallowed, and her tongue suddenly felt like sandpaper which had been glued to the roof of her mouth, "You can't be serious?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at her, "But I've never ridden a horse before in my life!" Her voice was beginning to rise in pitch and she quickly tried to relax her throat.

Arthur gave her suspicious look, but nonetheless wagged his finger in front of her face, teasing her, "Tut, tut Kay. You have a lot of catching up to do."

Two more horses were brought out of the stables, both twice the size of Kay who had surreptitiously glanced at the castle, hoping for a chance to escape. She turned to Merlin, catching both men unawares, "Come to think of it, wasn't there something important you needed me to do? Something _in the castle?_" Kay tried to suggest with her tone that if he didn't think of something, on the spot, right now, then there would be hell to pay later.

But despite this threat, Merlin just tapped his chin innocently, "Nope, only chores, but we can get them done later."

Kay clenched her fists, "Are you _sure?_"

"Absolutely."

Arthur decided to but in, "Enough! Kay, it is essential that you learn to ride a horse, what if I needed you to send an important message, what would you do?"

Kay pounced on the chance to defend herself, "I can run pretty fast, and without a horse I could take all sorts of shortcuts."

Arthur looked down at her patronizingly, "Nice try, now get on."

He jabbed his thumb at a particularly menacing looking mare; as tall as Kay was long, the horse was entirely black with the exception of a single white stripe running down the length of her back. Kay could have sworn the great beast was staring at her with what could only be described as confusion in its onyx black eyes.

Kay took a tentative step back, preparing to protest for what seemed like the millionth time, when she was grasped firmly under the arms and hoisted onto a saddle attached to the mare's back. Kay made a horrified face as she was forced to keep her balance by gripping the front of the saddle and locking her knees together either side of the animal's ribs. Course hair managed to somehow reach through her clothes and scratch her skin, the feel of muscle tensing beneath her made her want to recoil.

Arthur's smug voice came from below, "Her name is Nelda, meaning 'Alder trees'. And whether you like it or not she's your responsibility now."

Kay's mouth fell open in astonishment, "B-but I don't want a horse!"

"Too bad."

"No, you don't understand," Kay tried to explain, "I can't have a horse, I don't know anything about them! What they eat, what they drink, I don't know _anything!_"

Arthur patted the horse's neck fondly, "Don't worry," he looked up at Kay's stricken expression, "You'll learn." He then took the reins and offered them to Kay, when she simply stared at them, he gently pulled at her wrist until she let go of the saddle and put the strips of leather into her open palm, "Lesson number one, the reins control the horse, so never let go of them."

As Arthur made his way over to his own horse, Merlin jogged to Kay's side, "Don't worry, Nelda's well trained, as soon as we start moving she'll automatically follow. You just have to keep your balance and stay on her back, think you can manage that?"

Kay pouted at him, "No."

Merlin laughed as he hurriedly hopped onto his own horse, another chestnut stallion, the same as Arthur's.

The prince turned his steed around to face them, "Word has spread to Camelot that a beast is roaming the forests, stopping tradesman from making important deliveries and so-fourth. So as future king I have appointed my two man servants to help me patrol the woods and see what we can find, any questions?"

Kay's hand shot up into the air like a bullet from a gun, "If I promise to do all the laundry and polishing while you're away, can I stay behind?"

Arthur just gave her a bored expression, "No, now come on."

Just as Merlin had promised, Kay's horse followed the others without hesitation, leaving her to deal with the uncomfortable situation by closing her eyes and praying to God that this traumatising episode would be over soon.

Merlin glanced over every once in a while, trying not to laugh but at the same time feeling sorry for the poor girl. She obviously had a problem with equestrians in general, and being forced to take care of one wasn't doing this irrational fear of hers any good, a simple ride in the woods wasn't going to help.

With a swift kick he encouraged his horse to take up the space next to Arthur, "Are you sure about this?"

"About what Merlin?" Despite the question, Arthur's tone was devoid of any curiosity whatsoever.

Merlin cocked his head in Kay's general direction, "About bringing Kay with us, facing his worst fear on his first day seems like a bit much."

Arthur didn't even look behind him, "I'm merely teaching him the basics, just enough so that if something happens I know I can depend on him. Besides, since when did you grow concerned for the boy?"

"Maybe you've forgotten that he's only young."

"All the more reason to train him up now before he gets too set in his ways."

The three of them followed the roads until they entered the forest, then they moved onto narrow pathways, until finally the tracks disappeared altogether. The horses made light work of the under growth, even Kay was mildly impressed with Nelda's ability to both anticipate protruding roots _and _keep up with the other two horses.

A shift in the atmosphere suddenly had Kay looking up into the sky unsettled, "Hey guys, is it normally this quiet?"

Both Arthur and Merlin listened in, and had to admit that Kay was right, not even the song of birds pierced the morning air.

Merlin spoke under his breath, "What do you think it is?"

Arthur replied whilst attempting to look in all directions, "I don't know, but if it's magic I plan on bringing a head back to my father."

Kay piped up, "That's a bit harsh don't you think?"

An eerie wind rustled the leaves making all three horses halt in their tracks, stomping their hooves and twitching their ears nervously. Arthur was the first to jump down, "I guess we go on foot from here."

Merlin followed suit…but Kay was stuck, "Uh…guys! How do I get down?"

Arthur, already parading ahead, called back, "Just jump, and be quick about it!" Merlin had automatically started towards Kay to help her down when Arthur's commanding voice carried back on the wind, "Don't you dare Merlin! He needs to figure it out on his own."

Merlin threw a sympathetic expression at Kay before hesitantly going after Arthur's ever receding figure.

Kay blew the hair out of her eyes, "Well what am I supposed to do now?" She glanced down thinking that the ground looked both too far away and too hard to land on safely without injury. Kay would always be the last to admit it, but even she secretly knew that under all her bravado, lay the heart of a yellow-bellied coward.

This was one of those cowardly moments, she couldn't jump, and to be honest she didn't really want to. She caught Nelda's eye, "You wouldn't mind getting a little closer to the ground, huh Nelly old girl?" The horse stared at her unblinking, "No, I didn't think so."

However, despite Nelda's lack of response, she _did _start to shift as if preparing to lay down. Kay yelped and clung to the horse's saddle as Nelda clumsily got down onto her front knees, followed by her back legs until she was simply lying on her belly.

Kay sat for a moment, bemused, before gingerly swinging her leg over the horse's back and onto her own feet. She looked the animal in the eye and gestured between them both, "I don't know what just happened here," she looked behind her then returned her gaze to Nelda, "But this is not over."

Kay sprinted after the two men, leaving Nelda who remained on her belly, waiting for Kay's return…


End file.
